Revolutionary Clean Water Product Introduced by WATERisLIFE and DDB New York

Breaking this week, DDB New York and WATERisLIFE will launch “The Drinkable Book,” the first-ever Manual that teaches safe water tips and serves as a tool to kill deadly waterborne diseases – providing the reader with an opportunity to create clean, drinkable water with each page. “The Drinkable Book” features a brand new type of paper invented by McGill University & University of Virginia chemist, Dr. Theresa Dankovich, and works like a scientific coffee filter. Each page of the book is coated with silver nanoparticles, which kill diseases like cholera, E. coli and typhoid.

The book itself works in three easy steps. Simply tear along the perforation. Slide the filter into the 3D printed case (i.e., the book’s packaging). Pour the contaminated water through and the result is drinkable water. After passing water through the filter, there is a reduction of greater than 99.99% in bacteria count, which is comparable to tap water in the United States. Each book contains 24 usable pages, each of which contains two filters which each last 30 days. In total, the book can provide a single person with clean water for up to four years.

Matt Eastwood, CCO of DDB New York, commented, “The Drinkable Book’s filter paper will revolutionize water purification. It costs only pennies to produce, making it by far the cheapest option on the market. Each filter is capable of giving someone up to 30 days worth of clean water. And, each book is capable of providing someone with clean water for up to one year.”

A staggering 3.4 million people die each year from a water related disease and, in most of the cases, the victims didn’t know the water was unsafe to drink in the first place. Therefore, “The Drinkable Book” isn’t just a tool that purifies water, it teaches proper sanitation, too. The content on each page, printed in food grade ink in both English and Swahili, educates people about safe water habits – providing life saving information, such as keeping trash and feces away from your water source.

Below is more information on DDB New York’s partnership with WATERisLIFE.

WATERisLIFE will be distributing The Drinkable Book to villages in need as part of an integrated water, sanitation and hygiene program to save lives and transform communities. The Drinkable Book video is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYTif9F188E

DDB New York and WATERisLIFE

Since 2011, DDB New York and WATERisLIFE have worked together to raise awareness of the global water crisis and raise donations to help build clean water solutions in the world’s poorest communities. Most recently, the agency launched “The Girl Who Can’t Cry,” an online film that documents the many hardships faced by a young girl in the slums of India, revealing the fact that she can’t cry due to dehydration.

Past campaigns include:

“Kenya Bucket List,” an online film that compiles the amazing experiences of a four-year-old Maasai boy to create awareness that one in five children don’t reach their fifth birthday, as a result of unsafe drinking water in sub-Saharan Africa. Launch date: August 2013

“Hashtag Killer,” a campaign to set out to eradicate the #FirstWorldProblems Internet meme. The viral video features Third World Citizens reading the absurd tweets to communicate the irony of the trending topic. Launch date: October 2012